For the Sake of an Angel
by Maiden of the Heavens
Summary: Nellie always knew that somehow she was different. But being adopted a loving family such as the Temples was supposed to be a blessing not a curse. Ever since she moved to Cardiff with her new family things have gotten a lot stranger, she is running into monsters and the people who hunt them, and even the dreams that she has been having have turned from pleasant to nightmares.
1. Strange Encounters

**A/N: There are probably a gillizon stories like this out there, but I'm taking a whack at it so please read and review and let me know what you think! Nellie and any other OCS belong to me, but I do not own Torchwood or Doctor Who. -Maiden of the Heavens (MOTH)**

Dreams of Two Suns

Nellie Temple could not have been groggier as she stretched out her kinks with a yawn and tried to straighten her rat's nest of blonde hair. Instead of waking up at the crack of sunrise to get ready to go to school, she would rather be back dreaming about running through grassy fields the color of crimson ribbon with a sun rising and making the mountains sing, but it had been a scary dream, no it had been a pleasant one. She had been laughing and running along a side a boy, a boy who was at least eight-years-old just as she had been in the dream. But oddly enough when she had woken up from the dream, she could not remember the boy's name. She slammed the off button on her alarm and unburied herself from the warmth of her covers. She trudged across the hallway to the bathroom in her bunny slippers and rabbit decorated pajamas, and banged on the door loudly.

The off-key screeching that could have been called singing if the singer had not been tone-deaf stopped abruptly as the door opened and a sixteen-year-old girl popped her head out from behind it, her red hair in a messy bun and her toothpaste covered toothbrush in hand, a towel wrapped around her caramel-colored frame. "I am practicing for my solo, Nellie." She said angrily about the shut the door but Nellie stopped her by using her bunny slipper as a door jamb.

"Penelope, some of us still need to shower and get ready before the bus gets here." Nellie replied and forced her way into the bathroom and started the shower. Where her sister was exotic, Nellie could not have thought of herself as being more of a plain Jane. Her skin was as white as snow and her eyes were the color of green ferns, her blonde hair tumbled down to her shoulders getting soaked by the steaming hot water. It also didn't help that Penelope was not actually Nellie's blood sister.

While Nellie tried her best to ignore her sister's screeching, she scrubbed shampoo into her hair and thought of the boy that she had been laughing with. She had been so happy in that dream, while the reality of her world was not exactly all that pleasant. Nellie finished rinsing shampoo and soap off of herself and stepped out of the shower and into her fluffy pink bathrobe. Penelope was still singing as she departed to out of the bathroom and into the hallway where she was nearly run over by her little brother Curtis chasing after the family hound, who once again had Curtis's teddy bear in his mouth.

Curtis looked at her pleading dark chocolate eyes before he chased after the dog with a vengeance. Nellie giggled and disappeared into her bedroom shutting the door as she turned on her IPod that was resting in the dock while she put on her school uniform. The jumper was a dark navy as was the skirt; the knee high socks were black. She tied her hair back into a braid with a matching dark navy ribbon and shoved her feet into her black shoes. She danced her way around the room to Florence + The Machine while she packed up her backpack with the needed materials. She was just about to unplug the musical device from the dock and plug in her ear buds when she noticed the coal black pocket watch sitting on top of her dresser. She had never gone anywhere without it and wasn't going to start now. She strung the chain through the loops of her skirt like a belt and then made her way downstairs. "Morning Mum…" she said through a mouthful of toast with jam as he headed out the front door before Donna Noble-Temple even had a chance to wish her adopted daughter a good day at school, Donna sighed she still had to get Penelope off to school and get Curtis off to daycare. What made her think that she and Shaun could handle having a middle child yet alone adopting one? Then again, Shaun had been all gun-ho for the idea since they didn't think they could have Curtis, but low and behold two years later after adopting Nellie, the pair had their little boy. Donna sighed again and took a long and slow sip of her mug of coffee before made her way up stairs to yell at Penelope.

Nellie blew her fringe out her fern green eyes as she made her way up the stairs to her new school. A new school, a new life in a new town. Maybe life in Cardiff would be better than it had been at the orphanage? She loved Donna and Shaun, no doubt about that they had been her Mum and Dad for the past two years, but the fourteen year old just couldn't shrug off the fact that there was something off about her and that she didn't seem to fit in. Nellie looked at St. John's College with wonder and excitement as went into the student services office to go and get her time table for the semester. A shudder slipped down her spine as she found her way through the crowds of her peers and to the office, it felt like someone was watching her, but when she turned to look over shoulder nobody was even bothering to give her glance. Nellie shrugged it off as nothing but nerves before found her time table and thanked secretary before leaving.

Needless to say the young teenage girl had really hoped that Shaun and Donna wouldn't want to move to a bigger house, but the flat that they had renting ever since her adoption just wasn't big enough for the growing family, so they decided to move to Cardiff. Nellie had not made a million friends like Penelope over the summer instead she had gotten a job at a coffee shop and had saved up money to get her IPod. Nellie gently rubbed the outer exterior of her black pocket watch and looked around her for her homeroom, when she finally found it; she couldn't help the queasy-nervous feeling in her stomach and quickly ducked into the girls' lavatory.

"Calm down…just breath…you'll be fine…" Nellie said, trying to stop her shaking fingers as she stood at the sink, gripping it at the edges her whole body was quivering. She looked up when she saw a bald man with an elongated front, fangs, and drool pooling down onto the floor. Her forehead crinkled a little in confusion as the strange man came toward her wearing a jumpsuit that should have been meant for a janitor. He growled at her and lunged for her.

Nellie screamed and made her way out of the bathroom nearly losing her shoe, as she ran. What kind of messed up school was this?


	2. What's Real and What Isn't

**A/N: Welcome to the second chapter of For the Sake of an Angel. I hope this chapter is more interesting than the last. Please leave a review! I do own Doctor Who or Torchwood, just the idea for this story and any OCS. –Maiden of the Heavens (MOTH) **

What's Real and What Isn't

The door to the girls' lavatory banged open as Nellie launched herself out of the loo and toward the hallway, the "janitor" giving chase as she struggled to keep a distance between the two of them. Why did she have to be getting chased by a cannibalistic janitor the first day of a going to a new school? Nellie flew forward as she tripped over her own two feet and landed hard on the tiled floor. She bit back the pain that was stinging throughout her body and heaved herself back to her feet, but when it was the "janitor" cornered her against the lockers that she thought all hope was lost, his putrid breath brought tears stinging to her eyes, it wasn't just the fear that made her want to cry. The "janitor" sprang forth like a panther, teeth bared and growling. Her whole body quivered in fear.

The scream broke past her lips, a simple word that tore past her throat caked in fear and determination to live. "NO!" Nellie's whole body shook, as she closed her eyes tight, but it was not the monster janitor that she saw in front of her, it was blinding blue light and the word "Exterminate!" that made her body continue to quiver, tears pooled down her cheeks. Nellie slowly opened her eyes to see that the cannibalistic might not be human creature was stopped in mid-pounce, frozen in the air like a statue. Nellie blinked rabidly and wiped the tears away from her fern green eyes and cheeks. She gripped the coal black pocket watch that hung around her waist and found it to be nearly third-degree burn hot, but Nellie did not let go of it as she scuttled around the janitor. She was not really sure what to do now, was she going mad? Maybe she was still dreaming? Just to confirm dreams from reality, Nellie pinched her arm and found that did it indeed hurt. That this wasn't a dream, that it was indeed very real and possibly life-threateningly scary. She froze hearing footsteps coming down the hall and felt herself being yanked backwards and pushed behind a man in a long navy-blue trench coat.

He stared and the creature for a moment before turning around to face Nellie, and gripping her by her thin shoulders. "Did you do this to the Weevil?" he asked, his stormy-blue were filled with confusion and awe. Suddenly a woman came running up, looking rather large with child. "Gwen." The man said it to her like a father reprimanding a naughty child. "You're supposed to be on medical leave."

"I'm not going to leave someone in danger, Jack." The pregnant woman replied and then circled the Weevil and poked it with a finger. "How did you freeze him like this?" she asked and looked at the man called Jack.

"I didn't." He replied and turned back to Nellie, who was still standing there; shaking in fear as he once again gripped her shoulders. "She must have…somehow." His gaze drifted down to the pocket watch that was belted around Nellie's waist and then back to Gwen.

"This-This can't be real? Can it?" Nellie whispered to herself. "I must be dreaming or something. Dreaming…" her fern green eyes locked with Jack's. "Who are you people?"

"Captain Jack Harkness. Torchwood. We handle… well… unnatural circumstances." Jack answered and glanced over at Gwen, who was busy scribbling down notes.

"And this would be considered unnatural?" Nellie asked, stepping behind Jack as the Weevil began to move and then crashed into the lockers, whimpering like a wounded animal.

"Very unnatural." Jack finally answered and turned to lead Nellie out the back door of the school, just as three more people showed up in another vehicle that had Torchwood on the side. She leaned against the side of one of the cars while people that must have been more Torchwood members brought the subdued Weevil into a rather large van.

Gwen approached Nellie as the teenage girl nervously fiddled with the pocket watch around her waist. "What's your name sweetheart?"

"Nellie Temple. Listen, my mum and dad are gonna be real angry with me if they found out I was skipping school…." She answered as Gwen sat down beside her in the empty vehicle while Jack took to the driver's seat; another man that had shown up moments before and had the air about him that he was a doctor took the passenger seat. Gwen and Nellie were sitting in the back.

"Don't worry; we'll get a hold of your parents. And Owen here-" Gwen indicated the man in the passenger seat who simply nodded at Nellie. "Will check you over to make sure you're alright."

Nellie could only nod in reply as they began to make their way away from the school and toward the Headquarters of Torchwood. She had been hoping for a normal, boring Monday at a new school and a new town. Not running away from monsters and somehow being able to stop them in midair, then again Nellie couldn't really remember anything from her life ever being normal.

Not since the police had found her wondering in an alleyway at the age of five wearing nothing but a dirty mud-splattered floral print dress, her blonde hair all tangled and a the coal black pocket watch in her hands. When the police had asked her where her parents were and where she lived, even who she was, all she could remember saying was, "I don't know…" those had been the first three words she had spoken after waking up in the alleyway garbage, and really that was all she could remember, waking up in the alleyway alone and frightened, not knowing who she was, or were she was. All she could think of the tender age of five was finding some place safe to hide, somewhere where she wouldn't be found. Now that Nellie thought about it, wasn't it a little strange for a five-year-old not wanting to be found?

She lifted her head away from the windowpane of the car and looked at the members of Torchwood; maybe these people could give her some answers.


	3. Memories or Dreams?

**A/N: Welcome to chapter three of For the Sake of an Angel. I do not own Doctor Who or Torchwood, just my idea for this story and any OCS. Please leave a review in the box. –Maiden of the Heavens (MOTH)**

Memories or Dreams?

_She couldn't remember how she had gotten where she was. All she knew was that it was the icy cold droplets of rain that awoken her from unconscious state. She wearily pushed herself into a slight sitting position from where she was in the piles of garbage bags that were filled with trash. Rats scattered around her feet, squeaking in fear and uncertainty. She watched them curiously, how could they be frightened of her, she was just as frightened as they were. She looked down at the warm object in her hands; it felt as warm as a fresh baked loaf of bread that had come out of the oven. It was as black as coal and looked like an old man's pocket watch, but it didn't tick or tock, it was silent as stone. The only sounds around her were the rustling of the rats amongst the garbage she was sitting in and the rain that pitter-pattered down from the sky. _

_She pushed herself out of the nest of garbage she had been pondering in and made her way down the alley. Suddenly she was surrounded by so much noise and light that it nearly blinded and made her ears deaf. She stumbled back into the alleyway, where it was much more silent and clutched the pocket watch to her chest; she slid down on her butt and into the puddle below her. Her dress was soaked and dirty now, mud-splattered and torn. It must have been a nice colored pink once, she began to shiver and her stomach began to rumble at her. _

_Cold and hunger were snapping at her like an angry beast. But she was alone and scared, and had no idea where she was. But her body wanted food and warmth. Food and warmth, to survive, to live. She struggled back to her bare feet, bare feet that were numb with cold as she stood back up on wobbling legs. She made her way back to the noise and light. Cars rumbled by on the street, a gang of teenagers passed her by without a second thought. They were too busy smoking cigarettes, drinking liquor, and being loud and obnoxious to notice her. To notice a little girl that was lost and alone. She continued to wander down the sidewalk, clutching the coal black pocket watch to her chest as if it were a lifeline. _

_She stopped dead in tracks, right into a rather deep puddle that went up to her toes. She was standing right in front of a lady. A lady with pretty long brown hair and gentle hazel eyes, she was chattering away on a cellular phone but stopped when she noticed the little girl in a ruined pink dress._

"_I'll call you back, Jane." She said and hung up the phone and tucked it into her red purse. She bent down to the child's level and placed a gentle hand on her wet mop of white blonde hair._

"_Are you all alone, love?" the woman watched with sadness as the tiny and thin girl could only nod. "My name is Agatha. Let's go get you some place warm, shall we?" the woman gathered the little girl in her arms and began to carry her swiftly down the street, the weather only worsening. Agatha made her way into the local police station where her husband worked and set the shivering little girl down onto a chair, while the little girl looked at her with frightened fern green eyes. "I'll be back in a moment, love. You just wait right here."_

_She nodded in an answer and watched as the nice lady named Agatha wondered away to talk to a man in a blue uniform wearing a shiny police badge. The little girl pulled her knees up to her chest and placed the pocket watch to her ear. It was still as silent, not a tick or a tock. She glanced up as the man from behind the desk came up to her and crouched to her level._

"_Hello love, my name is Brian. I'm a police officer; I'm going to help you find your mum and dad. Alright?" the police officer had dark brown hair and a mustache, and kind brown eyes. She felt like she could trust him, so she nodded in reply._

_The police officer named Brian took her by the hand and led her farther into the police station. He gave her a police officer sweatshirt to put on and a pair of sweatpants. The wet and ruined dress was taken away and she couldn't help but feel like she was drowning in the borrowed clothes, but she liked feeling warm and safe. The officer had left her with a piping hot cup of hot chocolate and a long john donut filled with custard. She sipped at the hot chocolate blowing away the steam that curled up from the liquid within the mug, she devoured the donut with the gusto of someone who had never tasted anything sweet in all of their life. She licked the chocolate smudges off of her fingers and scraped the custard that had oozed onto the paper plate with her finger and into her mouth. _

_She looked up as Brian returned; he seemed to be worried and scared. For her? She couldn't remember anyone ever worrying about her wellbeing before. She gently laid her small hand on top of the police officer's rather large one and smiled. He smiled back; her touch seemed to have some type of effect on him, which made his worries disappear. He set down his notebook and pen, and gently gripped the small girl's hand in his own. You could abandon such a sweet little girl?_

"_Can you tell me your name, love?" he asked, waiting to write down the answer she would give._

_The little girl shook her head, her blonde locks were slowly starting to dry. _

"_Can you tell who your parents are? Where you live?" _

_But the little girl only shook her head again. "I don't know…"_

_Brian sighed. "Do you have a favorite letter or color?"_

_The little girl smiled. "I like red and white. Oh, and the letter N."_

_The police officer smiled a little and scribbled down her answers, it was a start at least. _

Nellie woke up to find herself underground and lying on the couch, she sat up and looked around rubbing the sleep out of her fern green eyes. Whatever she had done to the creature that Jack had called a Weevil must have drained her of all of her energy. She looked up to see a very well-dressed man handing her a cup of tea. She smiled softly, "Thanks." She then watched as he walked away and returned to making more tea. He must have been the caretaker of this place. Wherever she was, Nellie sat the tea down on the coffee table and made her way to wear Jack was standing next to a very pregnant Gwen.

"Oh good, you're up." Jack said in greeting as he turned away from the screen of the computer he was looking at.

"Yeah…" Nellie apologized, twisting the chain on the black pocket watch around her waist. "Sorry, about that."

"You're not going to mind if Owen runs a few tests on you are you?" Jack asked as the Doctor in question approached.

I-I guess not…" The fourteen year old shrugged.

Blood was drawn, x-rays were taken but nothing out the ordinary could be found by the Torchwood team. The teenager wasn't even sure if she should I apologize for being a plane Jane, and she really did not have any clue how the Weevil could have frozen in midair like that. It couldn't of been anything she could of done, she was nothing but an orphan. Jack handed her a pill, which without even bothering to question why she had to take it. She swallowed it, only to find herself waking up in her bedroom several hours later.

The hallway light streamed into her bedroom as she untangled herself from her bed covers, she padded into the hallway in her cookie monster nightshirt and headed downstairs to find Donna and Shaun sitting in the living room watching a film on the television. Curtis was huddled in between them, the hound lying by their feet and Penelope was draped across the chair, texting her newest best friend. Nellie shrugged and made her way back to her bedroom. Today just seemed like it had been one huge blank and she could not figure out why.


	4. Déjà vu just a little too soon

**A/N: Welcome to the fourth chapter of For the Sake of an Angel. I do not own Doctor Who or Torchwood, just my idea for this story and any OCS. Please leave a review, I would really appreciate it. –Maiden of the Heavens (MOTH) **

Chapter 4: Déjà vu just a little too soon

Nellie Temple found herself unable to sleep any longer as she threw her long white-blonde hair into a messy bun and made her way downstairs. Needless to say, she was glad that it was Saturday, not that she did like her new school or Cardiff, but everything seemed to be just a little too dull, and a little too sleepy for a town like Cardiff. Her classes were going fine, except it still bothered her that she was unable to remember a lot of what had happened that day. The one thing that still crept in the shadows of her mind was a stroke of fear and a man with startling eyes that wore a dark blue trench-coat type jacket. And of course his name still rang as clear as bell in her mind, Jack. She was not sure why, but she had a sneaking suspicion that if she were to run into Jack again it wouldn't be on a very good thing.

The fourteen year old teenage girl plopped herself down on the couch in her plaid pajamas, and flipped through the TV channels, she sighed when she all she could find were cartoons and left Curtis to watch the mind-numbing program as she made her way into the kitchen. Donna stood over the stove whisking eggs and letting the bacon and sausages cook, while she struggled to figure out what to stop paying attention to so she could go and get the waffles out of their double-oven before they burned.

Nellie shook her head amusement and stuck on a pair of oven mitts. "I got it, Mum." She said and pulled the waffles out of the top oven and began to pile some onto a plate, before getting out the butter and syrup. She smiled when she noticed that some of them were chocolate chip, but suddenly cringed when she heard her adopted mother put the whisk into the mixture after she had washed off the egg, to make more chocolate chip waffle batter. Nellie had never been fond of the smell of eggs, or the whirling of a whisk, and for some odd reason she did not the noise of the plunger sucking water clear in the toilet or bright blue lights. She had no idea why, but those types of things scared her even more then spiders or clowns. She glanced over at Donna once she had started buttering her waffle. Her mum was worried about her, she could tell that easily enough.

"Mum, you're giving me that my-poor-lost-little-puppy look again." The fourteen-year-old said as she poured herself a glass of milk.

"I'm sorry, I'm just concerned. You haven't made any new friends at school yet." Donna replied while she started up the coffee maker.

"I'm fine, Mum. Really, I am. I was going to go and volunteer at the local animal shelter today." Nellie said as she popped a piece of chocolate chip waffle in her mouth.

Donna looked up just as Penelope came down the stairs, she was already dressed in jeans and t-shirt, and busily caking herself with makeup. Donna smiled and sat between her two oldest children. "Penny, why don't you take Nellie with you to the mall with your friends?"

Penelope winced hoping that neither of them would notice, but could tell by the glare from her mother that the gesture of disgust did not go unnoticed. "Mum, I just made friends with Elizabeth and Olivia. I don't want to lose them just because they find out that my adopted sister is a freak who likes to spend her time with stray animals and old people."

Nellie sighed and finished up her breakfast. She liked helping people or animals and making them happy, she wasn't going to apologize for being different and liking what she wanted to do better than gawking at pretty boys and looking at the latest clothing and makeup fashions. "Thanks for trying Mum." She said and placed a kiss on Donna's cheek before setting her dirty dishes in the sink and heading upstairs to go shower and change.

The walk to the local animal shelter wasn't that far from home, Nellie made her way there in faded jeans, t-shirt, and a hoodie zipped up against the coolness of fall. Her sneakers rubbed up the against the cement as she walked. The first thing she was going to do was play with some of the kittens and cats, and then take a Scottish terrier she had fallen in love with for a walk. The volunteer work that she did made it feel like she had purpose. She had almost made it to the shelter, when she was knocked onto the sidewalk and nearly into the gutter by a man dressed in rags, the rags were oozing green, and he reeked like a week old fish that had been left in the sun for too long.

Nellie scrambled back to her feet as she turned to face the odd man, he glared at her with goat-like eyes and roared as if he was in agony or was angry at her for being in his way. She looked down when she saw a bundle in his arms, a bundle that was squirming and crying. Whoever this man was, the infant was not his. He turned to run, fear in his eyes, as he headed directly into traffic. Nellie's fern eyes grew wide as she struggled to chase after, not that it was that difficult he ran as if he lead in his legs. She had almost caught the back of his ragged jacket when he dove straight into traffic.

Nellie couldn't think straight, everything seemed to slow down as the odd man was hit by an oncoming cab and the baby was sent flying into the air, crying as if death was near. Everything around the fourteen-year-old seemed to slow to snail's pace as she ran and caught the baby, cradling it to her chest. Time seemed to speed up again as the odd man now lay in the middle of street; glass from the windshield sprayed everywhere. Traffic had halted; people were not on their mobiles calling for police and paramedics. Nellie fell to her knees, the babe still held to her chest as she sank into glass. Her heart pounding rabidly, as she struggled to make any sense of what was going on. She looked over at the odd man; he was reaching toward, and trying to get to her or the baby she couldn't tell.

Nellie turned to look over her shoulder as sirens wailed, the police were here now, but so was another team. The name on the side of the vehicle made her head swim a little. Torchwood, but then that meant that…she watched as the man called Captain Jack Harkness emerged from the car with the butler-man that had offered to get her tea. For some odd reason, and she couldn't figure out why, relief and happiness flooded through her as Jack approached.

She said his name in a whisper and could only smile as he stared at her. The adrenaline coursing through her had stopped and now all she could register. She looked down with weakening eyesight at the black pocket watch that was looped through her jeans like a belt. It was hot to the touch, as if it was on fire. She did not even register when a police officer took the baby from her, or when Jack crouched down and gently took her thin hand into his own.

"You've done it again…" He said with confusion creasing his face.

"Done what?" Nellie questioned as the world began to spin.

"Messed with time, except instead of stopping it this time, you've managed to slow it down…"

"How?" Nellie whispered as she felt herself starting to lean into the Captain of Torchwood.

"That's what we need to figure out…why would you go after him?" Jack said, hoping to get an answer out of her before she lost all consciousness.

"I had to get the baby…the baby was so scared. I couldn't let him be scared; I had to get him to safety. Apparently safety is me…because as soon as he was in my arms he stopped crying, he stopped being frightened. He was happy and he was safe, safe with me…" Nellie's fingers dug into the fabric of Jack's coat as she struggled to keep the world from going black.

"How would you know that?" Jack questioned, but Nellie Temple this strange girl with a connection to Time had already fainted, the coal black watch around her waist, glowing a faint gold, which seemed to pulsate from it. Almost like a cloud of amber dust that was puffing out of the pocket watch.

Once they had made it back to Headquarters, Jack had Ianto bring her into one of the spare rooms to sleep. "Let me know when she wakes up." He said taking Gwen's notes about Nellie Temple into his office, he had far too many questions that did not have any answers.

Jack might have been on his third or fourth cup of coffee by now, but he couldn't be certain. He had lost track of time, which was somewhat amusing considering he had a girl who could control it sleeping just under his feet. Jack sighed and somehow found the strength to remove himself from his chair. He made his way down to the briefing room only to find Ianto sitting beside Nellie working on a five-hundred piece puzzle.

"He emerges, good lordy Mister Harkness we were afraid you would never come out." Nellie said smiling as she popped another piece into place.

"Jack is fine, Nellie." He said and sat beside her.

Jack looked down at the coal black watch hanging around the fourteen year old's waist, it had stopped puffing out clouds of amber dust. "Any idea how you're able to control time?"

Nellie shook her white-blonde haired head. "Not a clue, I'm guessing you haven't figured it out either?"

Jack sighed, "No. But I do know someone who is somewhat of an expert."

Ianto raised an eyebrow, "The Doctor? You're going to try to reach him?"

"If anyone knows what is going on with Nellie, he would." Jack replied, smirking just a little.

"You're going to have a doctor look at me. He's going to think I'm mad!" Nellie said, she did not want to go an insane asylum, the foster families before Donna had adopted her and tried putting on her meds to stop her sudden outbursts but it had not helped in the least.

"Not a doctor, Nellie. _The _Doctor." Jack said with a smile and left the young girl confused as she disappeared back to his office.

"My mum is going to flip a chip when I don't come home for dinner…" Nellie muttered and put another piece of the puzzle into place.


	5. I Know How You Feel

**A/N: This chapter is based off of two things the tenth doctor said in the series, "Some would be inspired, some would run away, and some would go Mad." and also the quote, "I was a father once." I hope you like this chapter, and please leave a review. –Maiden of the Heavens (MOTH) **

Chapter Five: I Know How You Feel

She had been lying in the spare bedroom for a while now, a clock on the nightstand beside the bed slowly ticked. Nellie was sprawled on the bed, staring up at the ceiling with her coal-black pocket watched clutched in her hand against her chest. Her school uniform lay draped across a chair; she was wearing a button up shirt of Jack's that hung on her like an elephant's skin would. Nellie had no idea what the Captain of Torchwood had told her mother, but Donna Temple must have bought it if she was spending the night at headquarters. Nellie groped in the darkness for her IPod that was lying on the nightstand and put the buds in her ears. She flipped to her Night Playlist and could feel herself drifting off to Enya's song _Exile. _Her fern-green eyes began to close, drifting off into the land of dreams. Or maybe for the young girl it was memories that had been buried far away.

_He had always been there for her. Her best friend. They had gone to the Academy together, had been neighbors growing up side-by-side, and now he was her boss. It felt odd to her that this man she had been pining after for years completely ignored her affections and instead married a rather highly-known Time Lady that must have been in their class during their years at the academy. He had taken the title of Doctor, while she had taken the title of Nurse. A helper of her people, one that could calm away fears with a simple touch or a softly-spoken word. But for now she was not a Time Lady, instead she was a nanny to the doctor's children. They were very bright children; they mostly kept themselves occupied with reading stories and drawing colorful pictures._

_They were young, only four and six. The four-year-old was a beautiful little girl with dark curly hair and caramel colored eyes; she had a tendency to cling to her skirts, which Nurse did not mind at all. Since the children were too young to have titles, she simply called them by the names that the Doctor told her too. The young girl she was supposed to call Camellia and the boy was Oak. The children loved her and called her Nanny instead of Nurse, which sometimes confused the Doctor into calling her Nanny instead of Nurse. _

_It was early morning now, the suns had barely peaked past the mountains as stood in the kitchen brewing the Doctor's morning tea and making French toast for the children. She jumped a little, startled by the hand that came to rest on her shoulder, and nearly dropped the tea cup she was holding. She set it down gently and waited for him to speak._

"_Thank you." He said quietly, and lifted his hand away from her shoulder and sat himself down at the table. _

_Nurse brought him his tea and set it down beside him along with sugar and sliced lemons. "If you are thanking me for doing my job then that is quiet silly of you, Doctor." She smiled a little and went back to preparing the French toast._

"_Perhaps." He said softly, so quiet she could hardly hear him say it. "But you deserve to hear it more often."_

_All she could was stare at him after he said that, and then a gentle smile quirked at her lips. "You are most welcome, Doctor." She replied just as quietly, gently touching her fingers on the top of his hand, but quickly withdrew them when his wife emerged from the living room._

Nellie Temple woke up with a slight start, her heart rabidly pounding. She looked up to see golden dust puffing out of her pocket watch as if it was a chimney leaking smoke. She watched it until the swirling golden powder subsided and set the pocket watch on the nightstand. She pulled her IPod buds out from her ears since the music had gone silent. She made her way out of the spare bedroom and found herself wondering around Torchwood headquarters. She found Captain Jack Harkness in his office, his head bent over a book. Nellie sat down opposite him and set her hands in her lap, waiting patiently for him to notice her presence.

Jack's fingers somehow found his coffee mug handle as he lifted the liquid to his lips and found the caffeinated beverage to be ice cold. He winced as it trickled down his throat and finally noticed Nellie sitting across from him.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I could be asking you the same thing." She replied and smiled just a little.

"Memories far too many memories…" Jack muttered.

"I don't think my dreams are dreams…" Nellie said in a whisper. Even though there was no point in being quiet since it was just her and Jack in the building.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I think they're memories. Memories that I've forgotten or hidden. In these memories…I'm older and I'm with a man that is called the Doctor. Is he the Doctor you were talking about?"

Jack could only shrug. "Could be, we won't be sure until he gets here."

"When will he get here?" Nellie asked, she felt like a caged animal that needed to run free. Being stuck here waiting for this Doctor person was nerve-racking.

"I'm not sure. He'll get here when he get here." Jack replied and got up, he gestured for Nellie to follow.

He felt calm around her for some reason; it was if her very presence made him feel better about everything. He led her into the kitchen where he heated up a plate of cookies and hot chocolate and then set them on the small table. Nellie sat down and Jack sat down across from her.

"So tell me about your family…"

"There isn't much to tell. I don't really fit in with them very well. But I get along with my Grandpa Wilfred, we watch the stars together. He's taught me a lot about astronomy."

Jack smiled; he could not help the feeling in his head that Nellie Temple was not human at all. But he could not be certain and he did not wish to worry her with nothing but a hunch.


End file.
